The key to any modern-day city in this part of the 21st century where economic growth and modernization are more than just a striking pivot for development on a powerpoint is its infrastructure. Is it not? We keep hearing constantly about how modern-age cities are becoming increasingly dependent on renewable sources of energy on a growing basis, uplifting the overall social and physical infrastructure structures, whether or not, competing in a bid to emerge as high-tech cities- do we not?
So against that narrative, it’s a bit surprising to hear about the fact that a big, noted city in the world’s largest democracy is faring so poorly when it comes to giving its denizens a basic or core physical infrastructure element.
But for now, let’s shun the confusion and face the facts just as they are. It turns out, according to a latest finding that the streetlights in Jaipur are about as good as being non-functional.
Now, while this may come up as a random statement of fact, let’s dive into the exact details. It turns out that as many as 50 per cent of the streetlights in Jaipur are completely non-functional, and therefore, of no good use for the commoners in the city.
What must be noted is that Jaipur is not just any other city; it happens to be the capital of a very prominent state in India, in fact, the largest when it comes to an area-wise spread. With there being around 3,000 complaints of non-functional streetlights already pending with the Jaipur Municipal Corporation, at a time where the festive season in India is right around the corner, one can truly understand the gravity of the problem.
In addition to the above, it must be noted that even more than 50 per cent of the streetlights in Jaipur that had only recently been installed under the “smart city project” are not operational at this moment in time.
On that count, here’s the biggest shocker!
According to a piece of the latest news published in the Times of India, on a daily basis, more than 400 complaints about faulty street lights are being registered with the Jaipur Municipal Corporation. Yet, one is still to see a concrete course of action being taken to correct a massive woe for the residents and commoners.
So what the above does is that while it not only creates a big problem in the sense that the colonies are left without any form of lighting whatsoever, the womenfolk feel unsafe and scared especially during the night time.
On the lines of the above, it may not be incorrect to suggest that the “Walled City” is plunging increasingly into a pit of darkness that has aggravated out of sloppy work being done on the part of the city’s municipal bodies.
Surprisingly, when contacted about the erroneous and non-functioning streetlights in Jaipur, the JMC authorities are blaming the onslaught generated by the monsoons as being the key reason for this situation.
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Dharam Singh Singhania, chairman of lights committee at JMC, said, work has already started for repairing the street lights. “Now, as the monsoon is almost over we have started the repair work. We are doing rounds of the city to find out exact locations and asked the officials to take action. This will take some time but it will be done before Diwali,” he concluded.